Welcome to herkala
An initiative by Neasha Mittal to support Indian artisans
Discover the
Art and Craft
of Kutch
Mud Painting
Traditionally, Lippan Kaam uses a dough prepared from animal dung and mud or clay bought from the Rann of Kutch and the lakes in the Kutch region. Dung and clay are mixed in equal proportions, and a dough is prepared. Mud or clay has a natural tendency to adhere to the walls houses. Earlier, husk of bajri or millet was used as an alternative to dung, to keep termites away.
Copper Bells
Bells are hand cast in a variety of shapes and sizes displayed singularly or in a group to perform musical functions. The sound of each bell is set with an instrument called ekal. The tonal quality and the resonating sound are dependent on three factors inherent to the making. The shape and size of the bell, along with the wooden thong sourced from the local Khirad tree determines the sound it imparts.
The structure and curvature of the bottom which is delicately beaten into shape using a harmonic hammer resonates the sound deepening its after glow.
Rogan Art
Rogan painting, is an art of cloth printing practiced in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. In this craft, paint made from boiled oil and vegetable dyes is laid down on fabric using either a metal block (printing) or a stylus (painting). The craft nearly died out in the late 20th century, with rogan painting being practiced by only two families in the same village. In Nirona, the artists have introduced more contemporary products to appeal to tourists, such as bags, cushion covers, table cloths, wall hangings, and pillow covers. Many women have acquired this skill and practicing it for the last 10 years.
Leather Work
Leather craft is one of the non – textile Craft being practiced in Kutch since generations. The Marwada Meghwal community – who in heritage the craft skills – have migrated from Sindh and Rajasthan to Kutch. They used to work closely with cattle herders (Maldhari community) of Kachchh, who traditionally supplied them with hides. The tanning and other pre-processes were done at the village level only. This slowly disappeared due to cultural and social stigma associated with it and now leathers artisans are buying leather from outside. The community is blessed with the other embroidery skills, resulted into shared craft traditions to decorate the leather goods.
Bandhani Work
The art of Bandhani is a highly skilled process. The technique involves dyeing a fabric which is tied tightly with a thread at several points, thus producing a variety of patterns like Chandrakala, Bavan Baug, Shikari etcetera; depending on the manner in which the cloth is tied. The main colour used in Bandhana are yellow, red, blue, green and black.
The main colours used in Bandhana are natural. As Bandhani is a tie and dye process, dying is done by hand and hence best colours and combinations are possible in Bandhanis.
The Bandhani work has been exclusively carried out by the Khatri community of Kutchh and Saurashtra. A meter length of cloth can have thousands of tiny knots known as 'Bheendi' in the local language ('Gujarati').
Embroidery & Glass Work
The Kutch Embroidery is a handicraft and textile signature art tradition of the tribal community of Kutch District in Gujarat, India. This embroidery with its rich designs has made a notable contribution to the Indian embroidery traditions. The embroidery, practiced normally by women is generally done on fabrics of cotton, in the form of a net using cotton or silk threads. In certain patterns, it is also crafted over silk and satin. The types of stitches adopted are “square chain, double buttonhole, pattern darning, running stitch, satin and straight stitches”. The signature effect of the colorful embroidery sparkles when small mirrors called abhla are sewn over the geometrically shaped designs. Depending on the tribal sub groups of Rabari, Garasia Jat, and Mutava involved with this craft work many hand embroidered ethnic styles have evolved.